The Philadelphia Flyers have hit a rough patch to open 2026, and while the spotlight has been on the power play and goaltending, there’s another area quietly trending in the wrong direction: the penalty kill. Once a staple of John Tortorella’s defensive-minded system, the Flyers’ PK has slipped from elite to average-and in today’s NHL, average doesn’t cut it, especially when you’re spending this much time in the box.
Penalty Kill Regression: From Strength to Sore Spot
Let’s rewind for a second. Back in 2023-24, the Flyers’ penalty kill was a force-83.4 percent effective, good for fourth in the league.
Fast forward to last season, and that number dropped to 77.6 percent, pushing them down to 20th. This year?
They’re hovering around 79.3 percent, which currently ranks 19th in the NHL. That’s not catastrophic, but it’s a far cry from where they were two seasons ago.
And when you combine that with how often they’re shorthanded, it becomes a real issue.
Right now, the Flyers are giving up 0.64 power play goals per game-13th-worst in the league. That number wouldn’t be as concerning if they weren’t also one of the most penalized teams in the NHL. With 485 total penalty minutes and an average of 10:46 in the box per game (fourth-most in the league), they’re putting themselves in tough spots night after night.
To put that in perspective, last season they were far more disciplined-just 602 penalty minutes all year and 7:20 per game. That’s a big jump in time spent killing penalties, and when your kill rate is dipping, that’s a dangerous combination. You don’t have to be a stathead to see the problem: a league-average PK doesn’t mesh well with a team that’s constantly shorthanded.
2026: A New Year, a New Low
Since the calendar flipped to 2026, the Flyers’ penalty kill has completely fallen off the rails. Over their first six games of the year, they’ve killed off just 63.2 percent of penalties-third-worst in the league during that stretch. Only the Vancouver Canucks (56.3%) and Dallas Stars (61.5%) have fared worse.
The Flyers are 2-3-1 in those six games, and they’ve racked up 108 penalty minutes-third-most in the league over that span. That’s an average of 18 minutes per game.
They’ve also dropped the gloves six times in those six games, after recording just four fights in their first 39. That’s a noticeable uptick in physicality, but it’s also leading to more time on the kill-and more goals against.
Yes, the Flyers-Lightning game earlier this week accounted for 46 of those 108 penalty minutes, but that game also highlighted the issue. Tampa Bay went 2-for-4 on the power play, capitalizing on the Flyers’ lack of discipline and defensive breakdowns.
And it’s not like they’ve been facing bottom-feeders either. This stretch has included matchups with the surging Buffalo Sabres, a loaded Oilers squad led by Connor McDavid, and a Lightning team that’s among the East’s elite. Still, tough opponents or not, the Flyers' PK has been exposed.
What’s Going Wrong?
After a 5-2 loss to Buffalo, head coach Rick Tocchet didn’t mince words. He called out the penalty killers for poor reads, particularly on Rasmus Dahlin’s power play goal where the Sabres’ captain was allowed to walk into the slot uncontested and rip a wrist shot past Dan Vladar. That kind of breakdown just can’t happen-especially against a team like Buffalo that’s been red-hot.
The Flyers’ issues aren’t just tactical; they’re behavioral. Lazy penalties, poor positioning, and unnecessary fights are putting this team in a bind.
The best way to improve the penalty kill? Spend less time on it.
That means smarter decisions, better discipline, and fewer retaliatory penalties.
And then there’s the goaltending.
Sam Ersson has struggled, and now with Dan Vladar sidelined after leaving Wednesday’s game early, the Flyers are leaning even more on a netminder who’s still trying to find his footing. Goaltending and penalty killing go hand-in-hand-when one falters, the other usually follows. If Ersson can’t steady the ship and Vladar remains out, the PK could continue to spiral.
What’s Next?
The Flyers are a young, developing team, and with that comes growing pains. But if they want to stay in the playoff hunt, they need to clean up their act-and fast. With the intensity ramping up as we inch closer to the postseason, there’s less room for error and even less time to correct course.
The Flyers don’t need to return to being a top-five penalty kill overnight, but they do need to stop shooting themselves in the foot. That means staying out of the box, tightening up the reads, and getting better goaltending-because if this trend continues, the Flyers might find themselves looking at draft lottery odds instead of playoff matchups.